My Trails

5/16-18–466 miles
I enjoyed Trail Days in Damascus, VA, a lot more this year than last year. Last year I was just a spectator watching from the outside and this year I was part of the whole festival. It’s kind of like a reunion of sorts. You see all the people you’ve hiked with, some that you met way back in the first part of your hike, some that passed you or that you passed, and always there are questions. “Have you seen this person? Do you know what happened to John? Where is this person?” Everyone is brought together like family. That is the best part.

For the three days we were in town all we did was eat. The Baptist church in Damascus offers free showers, internet, medical help, and lots and lots of food. They fed us every night with great meals.

I went to a couple of presentations, one about the Camino de Santiago in Spain and I also bought a book by Gene Espy, the second thruhikers, which he autographed for me.

Most everything else in town was just like last year: The gear was the same, the stores the same, the programs the same. I decided to leave on Saturday to get ahead of the wave of hikers that had decended into town. There will be hundreds of hikers leaving town on Sunday and the shelters and campsites will be crowded. I’m on my own for a while now. Chicken Feathers is headed home to Atlanta and them he is going up north to finish a thruhike he started I’m 2010. I’ll miss him.

5/12 – 422 miles

The weather is still nice. We hiked five miles and then took a side trail into Hampton, TN, where we resupplied at a Dollar General. Dollar Generals have everything a backpacker needs – a lot of junk food. It is almost impossable to eat healthy out here. We crave sweet things like ice cream and candy bars and greasy food like burgers and pizza.

We hitchhiked in and out of town with no problems. I’m getting pretty good at hitching now. It used to make me uncomfortable but people that live close to the trail are used to hikers going to town and help them out a lot.

I am in Damascus, VA, for trail days right now. My phone is having a hard time charging so I will update some more later. Everything is going good and my leg is a lot better.

5/11 – 412 miles
I found out that by wrapping my leg tight and landing on my toe going downhill the shin splint felt good during the day. As long as we did short miles each day, it didn’t get much better, but it didn’t get any worse either. And the terrain was cooperating, too. There were long walks through gentle sloping woods and even the mountain paths had recently been rerouted with switchbacks to ease the climbs and descents. Sometimes we could see where the old trail went straight up the mountain and we were glad for all the trail maintainers that donate so much time to work on the trail.

We stelthed camped that night by a spring. It was a nice secluded spot almost hidden from the trail. We found what appeared to be a giant pile of bear poop so we were sure to hang a bag with our food.

5/10 – 400.7 miles
My leg was still sore in the morning but I took it easy and tried to walk slowly. We only did 8.8 miles to Mountaineer Shelter and spent the afternoon lounging in our tents. There was a waterfall near the shelter and I sat with my leg under the cold water twice in the afternoon.

Chicken Feathers almost had parts of his stove taken. He left his stove at the shelter while we were resting and when we went back to make dinner that night, someone had taken parts of his stove. They said that they thought they were abandoned but they shouldn’t have taken them anyway. We rested well even though there were young people partying over at the shelter.

5/8 5/9 – 392 miles
In the morning my leg was sore but I assumed it would get better as I hiked and warmed up. Little did I know that it would turn into one of the most painful injuries I’ve ever had. We passed by Overmountain Shelter, a famous converted barn, but I was too sore to take any detours. And later in the day the weather turned cold with a rain that blew in sideways like a hurricane. We bent our heads and climbed over Roan Mountain, a beautiful summit for vistas in all directions, but on this day saw only the swirling mist and rain a few feet in front of us. We longed for the protection of treeline but the mountain only went higher and higher, until at last the summit was passed and we started the long decent into the valley below.

We had planned on camping but nothing usable appeared. And we couldn’t muster the courage to set up our tents in the rain, so we hiked on. By the time we reached route 19e, eighteen miles into the day, my leg felt like someone was sticking a knife into it. Chicken Feathers went on ahead at one point and came back to carry my pack for the last mile.

That high-mileage day pretty much did me in, and the next day I spent reclining in a chair at a local bed and breakfast while Chicken Feathers brought me ice, pillows, medicine, and waited on me. After a zero day, I felt well enough to continue on.